Philippines contributes $20,000 to vaccine institute fund

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has announced a $20,000 voluntary contribution to the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) fund for 2023.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday that Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Theresa Dizon-de Vega made the announcement on the occasion of the inauguration of First Lady Kim Keonhee as the fifth honorary president of the Korea Support Committee for IV on March 9 at the IVI Seoul headquarters.

A commemorative ceremony for the funding contribution was held before the Vaccine Diplomacy Day activity where De Vega and IVI Director General Jerome Kim discussed the voluntary contribution and affirmed cooperation on future projects.

The turnover was witnessed by Third Secretary and Vice Consul Reisha Olavario from the Philippine embassy in Seoul and Young Mi Choi, head of IVI’s Global Affairs team.

“With this modest funding commitment, the Philippines looks forward to supporting IVI’s recent efforts in infectious disease research and vaccine research and development, helping create a platform for dialogue and future collaboration, and continuing our close relationship with the IVI as a state-party in the years to come,” De Vega said.

The Philippines is a state-party to the International Vaccine Institute, a non-profit international organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Program with a mission to discover, develop and deliver safe, effective and affordable vaccines for global health.

Kim said that “we are grateful to the government of the Republic of the Philippines for its continued trust in and support of IVI and our work to research and develop vaccines against infectious diseases that affect the world’s most vulnerable populations.”